Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns Demonstrative adjectives are very commonly used in English as well as French. They are the way we identify which one of something we are referring to this or these. Demonstrative adjectives are used with nouns, for example this pen or these books. Demonstrative pronouns, however, replace the noun. For example, we could ask Which book(s) are you talking about?. The answer, this one or those ones, in English would be our demonstrative pronoun. In this article, we will discuss how these words change grammatically in French. Examples of these adjectives and pronouns in use will also be given. I. Demonstrative Adjectives Demonstrative adjectives are how we would say this or these in English. In French, these words change according to gender and whether they are referring to singular or plural nouns. Their usage is the same as in English. See the table below for the different forms of demonstrative adjectives. Adjectives Ce Masculine singular This Cet Masculine singular for use with nouns starting with a vowel or silent h This 1

Cette Feminine singular This Ces Masculine or feminine plural These 1. Examples 1. Ce In the example below, ce is used because travail is a singular and masculine noun. Ce travail est vraiment difficile parce que mon patron ne m aide pas. This job is really difficult because my boss doesn t help me. 2. Cet Cet emploi va améliorer mon cv et après je pourrai obtenir une meilleure poste. This job will improve my CV and afterwards I will be able to obtain a better position. The example shown takes cet because emploi is a masculine singular noun that begins with a vowel. 3. Cette Cette is used in the example below because école is a feminine singular noun. Les enfants n aiment pas cette école. Ils me disent que les professeurs sont trop stricts. The children don t like this school. They tell me that the teachers are too strict. 4. Ces Ces is used in the sentence below because gens is a plural noun. Ces gens ne protègent pas l environnement, et c est pour cette raison que la situation du monde va empirer. 2

These people don t protect the environment, and it is for this reason that the world s situation will get worse. II. Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns mean either this one or these/those ones. In French, they also change grammatically to suit the gender and number of the noun they are replacing. See the table below for more details on these changes. Pronouns Celui Masculine singular This one Ceux Masculine plural These/those ones Celle Feminine singular This one Celles Feminine plural These/those ones 1. Additional Meanings Further meaning can be added to demonstrative pronouns by adding ci or la to the word. Ci can be translated as here and la can be translated as there. Pronouns Celui-ci Masculine singular This one here Ceux-ci Masculine plural These ones here Celle-ci Feminine singular This one here Celles-ci Feminine plural These ones here Pronouns 3

Celui-la Masculine singular That one there Ceux-la Masculine plural Those ones there Celle-la Feminine singular That one there Celles-la Feminine plural Those ones there 2. Examples 1. Celui Je veux acheter un t-shirt. Est-ce que tu préfères celui-ci ou celui-là? I want to buy a tshirt. Do you prefer this one (here) or that one (there)? Un t-shirt is a masculine singular noun, therefore celui is used. 2. Ceux Ceux is used below because pantalons is a masculine plural noun. Est-ce que vous pouvez m aider? Je voudrais acheter des pantalons noirs. Est-ce que ceux-ci sont plus populaires, ou est-ce que je devrais essayer ceux-là? Can you help me? I would like to buy some black trousers. Are these ones (here) more popular, or should I try those ones (there)? 3. Celle The example below uses celle because robe is a feminine singular word. J adore cette robe. Est-ce que tu aimes le couleur de celle-ci ou de celle-là? I love this dress. Do you like the colour of this one (here) or of that one (there)? 4. Celles Les roses is a feminine plural noun, therefore celles is used in the example below. Ma mère aiment les roses, mais je ne sais pas si elle préfèrerait celles-ci ou celles-là. My mother loves roses, but I don t know if she would prefer these ones (here) or those ones (there). 4

Multiple Choice Questions 1. What are demonstrative adjectives? a) The same as demonstrative pronouns. b) Adjectives used in demonstrations. c) They are the way of identifying which one in a sentence this or these are English equivalents. d) They mean these ones or those ones in English. 2. Which of the below is an example of a demonstrative adjective in French? a) Celui-ci b) Celui-là c) Celles d) Cette 3. When is cet used as a demonstrative adjective? a) It isn t it is a demonstrative pronoun. b) It is used with a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h. c) It is used with a feminine singular noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h. d) It is used with plural nouns. 4. When is ces used as a demonstrative adjective? a) Always. b) With feminine plural nouns. c) With masculine plural nouns. d) With plural nouns of either gender. 5. What are demonstrative pronouns? a) They also tell us which one we are talking about, but they replace the noun completely. In English, we would say this one or these ones etc. b) They are the same as normal pronouns. 5

c) They are the same as demonstrative adjectives. d) They replace the verb in the sentence. 6. Which of the below is an example of a demonstrative pronoun? a) Cette b) Ces c) Ceux-là d) Ce 7. What is the different between demonstrative pronouns that end in -ci and -la? a)there is no difference. b) -ci means there and -la means here. c) -la means there and -ci means here. d) -ci and -la both mean here. 8. When do we use celles? a) Celles is used for feminine plural nouns as a demonstrative adjective. b) Celles is used for feminine plural nouns as a demonstrative pronoun. c) It is used for plural nouns as a demonstrative adjective. d) It is used for plural nouns as a demonstrative pronoun. 9. What does celui-ci mean? a) This one (here). It is used to replace feminine singular nouns. b) This one (here). It is used to replace masculine singular nouns. c) These ones (here). It is used to replace masculine plural nouns. d) Those ones (there). It is used to replace masculine plural nouns. 10. What does ceux-la mean? a) This one (here). It is used to replace feminine singular nouns. b) This one (here). It is used to replace masculine singular nouns. c) These ones (here). It is used to replace feminine plural nouns. d) Those ones (there). It is used to replace masculine plural nouns. 6

Answers: 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. D 5. A 6. C 7. C 8. B 9. B 10. D 7